Sofia Municipality is planning the construction of nine new car parks across the city, which will provide more than 2,000 additional parking spaces over the next 12 to 18 months. The projects will be implemented through public–private partnerships, without any change to the ownership of the municipal land. This was announced by Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev at a briefing at Sofia Municipality on December 15.
He said the municipality had spent recent months developing a systematic approach to selecting and assessing sites, with a total of 269 plots analysed against clear and objective criteria, including ownership status, urban planning readiness, the presence of archaeological remains, transport accessibility and actual parking needs.
“This is the first step in a longer-term policy to address the parking problem in Sofia. Our aim is not isolated, piecemeal initiatives, but a sustainable model that will allow the rapid construction of more car parks in the coming years,” Mr Terziev said.
The Deputy Mayor for Transport, Viktor Chaushev, said Sofia was among the cities with the highest levels of car ownership in Europe, with more than 750 vehicles per 1,000 residents, placing significant pressure on the urban environment. As a first phase, nine sites with clear legal status have been selected, allowing for swift implementation, he added.
The planned car parks will be located in the districts of Ovcha Kupel, Ilinden, Nadezhda, Serdika, Poduyane, Krasno Selo and Mladost, with three facilities envisaged in Ovcha Kupel. Some will be situated close to metro stations and will serve as park-and-ride facilities. The largest site is in the Ilinden district and is expected to provide around 400 parking spaces, Mr Chaushev said.
He added that the construction of the car parks was part of a broader package of measures aimed at easing traffic pressure in the capital. The projects will be designed to take account of environmental considerations and the residential character of the neighbourhoods. The goal, he said, was not simply to increase the number of spaces, but to genuinely relieve districts facing the most acute parking shortages. Proximity to metro stations and major transport corridors is a key criterion, intended to encourage combined journeys and greater use of public transport.
The chair of the working group on public–private partnerships and municipal councillor, Boyko Dimitrov, explained that a concession model had been chosen for the larger sites, offering the municipality greater control over operating conditions and ensuring transparency. He said a report would be submitted to the Sofia Municipal Council to include the nine sites in the concessions plan, after which financial and economic analyses would be prepared and procedures launched.
Mayor Terziev stressed that the sites would remain municipal property and that no change of ownership was envisaged. Some of the projects will also include additional public amenities, such as green roofs or sports facilities. He noted that this was only the beginning, with work continuing on further sites as part of parallel efforts to develop parking and public transport, with the aim of delivering lasting improvements to Sofia’s urban environment.
Source: BTA
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